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This latest work features protagonists chasing after fresh starts, struggling to escape substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Kraus often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, since this seems a different type of work – fact-based, truly literary. But then it turns out to be filled with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

The writer was originally an creative who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to try out fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.

Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the narrative about Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the kind that Kraus herself often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It possesses a fresh level of observation that makes room for minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as her spouse transitions between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the hostility and dread that underpins an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the murder itself – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the killer and his companions. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, mooching around getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par